The proposed research is designed to describe and compare demographic, social, and housing characteristics among the elderly with particular emphasis on racial and ethnic differentiation and comparison. The study is designed to correct two significant omissions in current research in social gerontology: the recognition of ethnic heterogeneity as an important differentiating mechanism, and the analysis of longitudinal as well as cross-sectional data. To this end, the research will use as a basic sample all household and person records pertaining to the elderly population from the 1960 and 1970 Public Use Samples, using the 1/100 sample to assure maximum subsample size. Results will include detailed profiles of the elderly by race-ethnic and age subgroups, as well as comparative analysis of these profiles. In addition cohort analysis will be performed to compare the status of the aging. Results are expected to be useful to policy-makers, planners, and those involved in providing services to the elderly, as well as to serve as a foundation for future analytical research of differentiation and process among the aging and the elderly.